Combination coupler



Feb. 28, 1950 F. MEIER ET AL 2,498,764

COMBINATION COUPLER Filed Nov. 5, 1946 Patented Feb. 28, 1950 I u tDf T T' S f f s f v I 1";1' r COMBINATION ooUPLEn Frederic Meier, Chicago, fm'u ana'onestei n' Rittenhouse, Hobart, Ind.," assignors toCar negie-Illirioi's SteePCorporationja corporation l. 3- L ofNew Jersey- This invention relates to a combination coupler for railroad cars and the like. In'the open hearth departments of steel -mills, three types of frail road cars are used: ingot buggies, charging bo; buggies and standard railroad cars. The railroad car's and some of the buggies are equipped with standard knuckle type couplers and the remain; ing buggies are equipped with link and pin type couplers. The'locomotives usedfor moving these cars must be equipped to couple to eithertype of coupler. Several schemes'havebeen tried to permit coupling of either type of couplers, but none have proved to be entirely satisfactory prior to this invention; v

It is an object of this invention to provides combination coupler for selectively coupling to either a standard railroad knuckle type coupler or a link and pin type coupler.

Another object is to provide'such a coupler in which the two types of couplers are easily and quickly interchangeable.

Still another object is to providesuch a coupler in which no parts need be removed to permit functioning of any other part and in which the coupler" out of action will' notinterfere with theifunctioning"ofthe'onein use. f

These and otherobjects'will be more apparent after referring t'o the following specification andattached drawings, in which:

-Eigure 1. is a plan view of the coupler connected to a car equipped with a standard knuckle ty-pe coupler;

Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure 1, but showing the coupler connected to a car equipped with a link and pin type coupler; and

Figure 3 is an elevation of the coupler connected to a car equipped with a link and pin type coupler.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the reference numeral 2 indicates a railroad car provided with a standard railroad knuckle type coupler 4. The coupler 4 is fastened bymeans of a pin 6 to a drawhead 8 which is provided with a pocket ill for receiving the coupler 4. The drawhead 8 is received in a T-shaped pocket l2 in the car 2. This mounting is that commonly used in railroad cars. The combination coupler of my invention is mounted on a safety car l4 which is fastened to a locomotive. It will be understood that the combination coupler could be fastened to any car or locomotive in place of the coupler commonly used. The T-shaped head I8 of a drawhead 28 is fastened to the car M. The outer end of the drawhead 28 is provided with a pocket 22 for receiving the shank 24 of a standard railroadknuckle typef couplerzB. ijBosses 28 and 30 are provided on thetop and bottom surfaces'of the drawhead 20 and extend beyond thetop and bottom} res-pathways: the coupler 26. "A hole 32 extends vertically through the bossesmand' the drawhead. A "U -shaped yoke 34. extends from niittd to 1 swing from its' operative position" in which its center line is on the center line of the car. l' 4 to its inoperative position shown in Figure 117A srep'trsfprbvnea on'the drawhead Zlllfor limiting "the movement of the yoke 34. to'fitsl'operanve'pdsisa shown in Figure 2 and 'a'second Ste '15'4 {is "provided on the drawhead 28.to.limit tl'i movement 'fthe' yoke 34 to its inoperative pos i'tiori shownin Figur coop rati g holes 56 aije provided in. theIdr'awhead and. y e, respectively. for receivinga pin 80 which looks the yoke 34 in its inoperative position.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that the coupler 26 may be fastened to the coupler 4 by merely swinging the yoke 34 to the inoperative position and looking it in place by means of the locking pin 80 as shown in Figure 1. In this position, it will be noted that clearance 62 is provided between the coupler 4 and the yoke 34 and that clearance 64 is provided between the car 2 and the yoke 34.

Figure 2 shows the coupler connected to a railroad car 2' provided with a drawhead 8 which has a pocket l8 therein for receiving the link 38. The drawhead 8 is fastened in a T-shaped pocket I! in the car 2'. When it is desired to connect the car I4 to the car 2', the pin is removed and the yoke 34 and the link 38 is swung to the center line of the car. In this position, clearance 66 is provided between the coupler 28 and the yoke 34. The end of link 38 is received in the pocket l8 and a pin 8' is inserted through aligned openings in the drawhead 8' and link 38 to hold the cars together.

While one embodiment of our invention has been shown and described, it will be apparent that other adaptations and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the following claims.

We claim:

1. A combination coupler for connecting a railroad car or the like selectively to a car provided with a railroad knuckle type coupler or a car provided with a link and pin type coupler, which combination coupler comprises a drawhead fastened to said first named railroad car, a railroad knuckle type coupler fastened to said drawhead, a yoke pivotally mounted on said drawhead and extending outwardly therefrom beyond said last named coupler, said yoke surrounding said last named coupler and being movable in a horizontal plane therearound from inoperative to operative position, a link fastened to said yoke and extending outwardly therefrom, stop lugs on said drawhead for limiting the swing of the yoke to its operative and inoperative positions, and means for holding the yoke in its inoperative position.

2. A combination coupler for connecting a railroad car or the like selectively to a car provided with a railroad knuckle type coupler or a car provided with a link and pin type coupler, which combination coupler comprises a drawhead fastened to said first named railroad car, a railroad knuckle type coupler fastened to said drawhead, aligned bosses on the top and bottom surfaces of said drawhead, a U-shaped yoke extending from said bosses outwardly beyond said last named coupler and pivotally' mounted on said drawhead, a link fastened to said yoke and extending outwardly therefrom, stop lugs on said drawhead for limiting the swing of the yoke to its operative and inoperative positions, and means for holding the yoke in its inoperative position.

3. A combination coupler for connecting a railroad car or the like selectively to a car provided with a railroad knuckle type coupler or a car provided with a link and pin type coupler, which combination coupler comprises a drawhead fastened to said first named railroad car, said drawhead having a pocket in its outer end, a railroad knuckle type coupler having its shank extending into said pocket, means for fastening said last named coupler to said drawhead, aligned bosses on the top and bottom surfaces of said drawhead, said bosses and drawhead having an opening extending therethrough, a U-shaped yoke extending from said bosses outwardly beyond said last named coupler, said yoke having a slot in its outer end, a link fastened in said slot and extending outwardly therefrom, said yoke having openings therein aligned with the openings in said bosses and drawhead, and a pin passing through said openings for pivotally supporting said yoke on said drawhead.

4. A combination coupler for connecting a railroad car or the like selectively to a car provided with a railroad knuckle type coupler or a car provided with a link and pin type coupler, which combination coupler comprises a drawhead fastened to said first named railroad car, said drawhead having a pocket in its outer end, a

.- railroad knuckle type coupler having its shank extending into said pocket, means for fastening said last named coupler to said drawhead, aligned bosses on the top and bottom surfaces of said drawhead, said bosses and drawhead having an opening extending therethrough, a U-shaped yoke extending from said bosses outwardly beyond said last named coupler, said yoke having a slot in its outer end, a link fastened in said slot and extending outwardly therefrom, said yoke having openings therein aligned with the opening in said bosses and drawhead, a pin passing through said openings for pivotally supporting said yoke on said drawhead, stop lugs on said drawhead for limiting the swing of the yoke to its operative and inoperative positions, and means for holding the yoke in its inoperative position.

FREDERIC MEIER.

CHESTER H. RITTENHOUSE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,201,699 Coffin Oct. 17, 1916 1,545,806 Whitridge July 14, 1925 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 647,775 France Nov. 30, 1928 

